Black Heritage Network Meeting 

August 15, 2000 

Participant’s Output 

Meeting Participants: Greg McCandless, Neville Nunes, June Harper, Harry Harper, Wilma Morrison, Lyn Roberts, Donna Ford, Rochelle Bush, Ada Summers, Margot Leslie 

Resource Person: Lorraine Hogan 

Roundtable Updates: 

Greg McCandless 

Economic Development Officer 

City of St. Catharines 

Canada’s Digital Collections Program 

  • New Federal government initiative under the Youth Employment Strategy program to provide work experience to young people between the ages of 15-30. (See attached criteria.) 
  • City of St. Catharines is interested in submitting a project proposal for the development and creation of a multi-media web-site on the Underground Railroad in partnership with the Black Heritage Network. 
  • Application deadline is October 2, 2000.
  • Project would provide an opportunity for youth to become more involved with Black heritage. 
  • Lyn Roberts, Wilma Morrison and Neville Nunes will work with the City on the development of a project proposal for presentation at the next network meeting. 

Changes to Minutes of the July 10th Meeting: 

Changes to June 5th Meeting 

Core Members 

Museum Category Marker Members 

Associate Members 

  • Under the SWOT of the Durham Road Old Pioneer Cemetery Committee, the Town listed should be Lucan not  Lucas.
  • The Nathaniel Dett Chapel and Norval Johnson Heritage Library should be listed as one site – not two separate sites. 
  • AME church in Oakville should be listed.
  • The cemetery listed is in « Ridgemount » not Ridgeway. 
  • Should include Boards of Education since one of the goals of the network is education. 
  • Ministry of Education and Training should be approached to become part of the network especially given the recent changes to the curriculum.
  • Municipalities should be included especially the tourism and economic departments. 

NEXT MEETING:  Monday September 25th 

Revisions to Draft Letter of Intent: 

Core Members

Fee Structure 

Signatures 

  • Suggested that the Stuart Memorial Church in Hamilton be approached about being a core member as they meet the definition. Representatives from the church are on the mailing list but have been unable to attend the network meetings. 
  • Neville Nunes and Karen Daniels will meet with other representatives from the church prior to the next meeting to bring them up to date on the progress of the network and discuss the possibility of their involvement. 
  • Nathaniel Dett Chapel and Norval Johnson Heritage Library should be identified as one site not two thereby reducing the number of current core members to 5. 
  • Reviewed fee structure of the Windsor network.
  • Suggested that members consider options for the fee structure to be discussed at the next meeting. 
  • Core members confirm their ability/authority to sign the Letter of Intent document for the next meeting. 

Discussion Regarding Name of Network: 

  • Reviewed the names suggested at the last meeting and discussed other options. Names suggested include: 

Niagara’s Freedom Trail 

Central Region Freedom Trail 

South Central Freedom Trail 

Niagara Escarpment Freedom Trail 

African Footsteps 

South Central Ontario Black Heritage Network 

Canadian-African Heritage Network

  • Name chosen for the network « Black Heritage Network » as it is inclusive of all Black history and allows for the network to include people and organizations from other Black 

communities i.e. Sudan. 

Selection of Interim Chairperson: 

  • Donna Ford agreed to serve as the interim chairperson until such time as the network becomes formalized. 

NEXT MEETING: Monday September 25th 

For Discussion at Next Meeting: 

1. Finalize membership fees 

2. Confirm permission for core sites to sign Letter of Intent 

3. Review final draft of the Letter of Intent 

4. Review and discuss the project proposal for the « Digital Collections » application. 5. Priorize the areas of co-operation. 

6. Establish working group to assist with the development of a funding proposal for HRDC 

7. Next steps 

NEXT MEETING 

Date: MondaySeptember 25th 

Time: 9:30am-2:00pm 

Location:Niagaa Room 

Government of Ontario Building 

2nd Floor, 301 St. Paul Street 

St. Catharines